HB1020

I am In complete support of what is written below by this 5th grade class!! On behalf of my son, Nicholas-5th grader at North Hampton School: Hi Everyone! My name is Nicholas and I’m in the 5th grade. My friends and I are creating a bill to name Lake Winnipesaukee the State Lake of New Hampshire. We have been working on this since 4th grade with the help of our teacher and Representatives Maggiore and Balboni, and are so excited that after all of this hard work it is finally going to committee. After our 4th grade field trip to the State House, we were looking at a state map and realized that we have many state symbols in our state, but no state lake. We looked at a map of the US to see if every state could have a state lake if they wanted to, and the answer was “yes.” So we decided to ask our teacher if we could create a bill to name a state lake. Some of the reasons why we chose Lake Winnipesaukee are that it is a very well known lake - even by people outside of our state, it is the largest lake in the state, and it reflects the heritage of the Abenaki people in its name which means “Smile of the Great Spirit” or “Beautiful Water in a High Place.” This beautiful water is enjoyed year round from folks all over the state! Not only is this lake used for your normal swimming and water activities in the summer, in the winter it is transformed into an ice fishing, skating, and snowmobile paradise and even has a landing strip for planes! We hope you will take a moment to share your support for Bill 1020 before our hearing on Wednesday by following this link! Thank you

I think it is a tremendous idea for Lake Winnipesaukee to be named the State Lake.

As a New Hampshire native retired US Army Special Forces Officer, I was raised during the summers on the shore of Lake Winny by my grandfather who was a Navy Veteran. Now that I live back in NH I am always drawn to the lake to re center myself and find my peace. I have brought many veterans to the area to share this experience with. NH deserves to have this lake named the state lake.

I have a lifetime of wonderful memories of visiting Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding towns for summer and winter activities. I fully support Bill 1020!

I fully support this bill because I believe Lake Winnipesaukee to be the state of New Hampshire’s finest recreational lake and was surprised to hear that no state lake has yet been recognized!

A state lake would be unique and our "big lake" deserves it.

I support this Bill 100%!

I grew up on Lake Winni., it’s a place that brings families and friends together to relax and celebrate special occasions. There’s no other place in NH as beautiful; day or night with the moon shining across the smooth water and listening to the sounds of nature all around. you. The memories I have as a child there will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Support

With only a few other states in the country having named an official state lake, what a wonderful opportunity to highlight not only the special body of water we have in Lake Winnipesaukee, but to also shine a light on all of our lakes and how important they are to the state of New Hampshire. I think it is a wonderful idea to select our largest and arguably most well known lake to serve as the official state lake and as the representative of our many bodies of water across the state.

I support this bill being the largest lake in the state. Lake Winnipesaukee is a foundation of New Hampshire's tourism economy and a symbol of its natural heritage.

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest and most well known lake in the state of N.H. It’s the economic engine of the lake region. It should be the state lake of N.H.

Recognizing Lake Winnipesaukee as the state lake of New Hampshire makes sense since it is such an important part of the state's history and it's future. I'm glad a smart 5th grader came up with this idea!

The children have done so much work to help pass this bill. It’s a Great Lake that represents so much of what NH is… fresh water, great fishing, clean resources, beautiful scenery. It is a wonderful example of something wonderful in our state !

I support this bill for Lake a Winnipesaukee to be the state lake.

Love this idea of having a state lake and that elementary students are behind this! Vote yes!

We support this bill and visited and boated on Lake Winni for 55 years before permanently moving to NH 6 years ago.

Designating Winnipesaukee as our official state lake will bring attention to the value of all 1,000 lakes in New Hampshire. Mascoma is my personal favorite, but I urge passage of this bill to enshrine the largest lake as our official ambassador for the Granite State.

Lake Winnipesaukee should absolutely be New Hampshire’s state lake! I know how much work the New Hampton students put into proposing this bill, because my class also did this project back when I was in the fourth grade (NH state vegetable)! Even now as an adult I remember how happy and proud we were when our bill was passed, and these students absolutely deserve this too.

I have lived on Lake Winnipesaukee for a decade. Lake Winnipesaukee has got to be New Hampshire’s official state lake!

I live in Moultonborough and realize how fortunate to be near Lake Winnipesaukee. It adds so much to our town and to the state and derserves to be designated as our state lake. Thank you

I am in favor of naming Winnipesaukee the NH State Lake. This will help bring attention to the lake and serve as a catalyst to gather more support for protecting the lake from invasive species, erosion, and pollution. Thank you.

I have grown up on the lake and enjoy working there during my summers. I believe that the lake not only represents the beauty of New Hampshire, but also the people. The lake is able to bring so many people together in all seasons and shows how amazing our state’s people and scenery is.

I support making Lake Winnipesaukee the state lake in NH.